SeaWorld's future may lie with federal judges over a decision involving the aquatic parks' most popular draw: killer whales.

For decades, orcas have been the biggest show at Sea World, but
trainers have been banned from close contact with the whales since 2010
when trainer Dawn Brancheau
was thrashed and drowned by Tilikum, a 12,000 pound killer whale at
SeaWorld Orlando. Federal safety regulators cited SeaWorld for violating
workplace safety laws and banned trainers from close contact with the
whales unless separated by a protective barrier. SeaWorld is now
appealing that ruling.

David Kirby wrote "Death at SeaWorld" and is following the current
court case in which SeaWorld claims their business is no more risky than
most professional sports which often end in injury.

"The
stakes in this case actually could not be higher," Kirby said. "It's a
very, very good point for Sea World to make. Why us and why not NFL or
NASCAR? Because let's face it, the show is much more spectacular when
the trainers are in the water than when they're just on stage."

In court documents filed Wednesday, SeaWorld stated that "close
contact with killer whales is essential to the product offered by
SeaWorld, and is indeed the primary reason trainers and audiences have
been drawn to SeaWorld for nearly 50 years."

Trainers do still get close enough to feed and train the animals, but
do not get in the water. The government argues that killer whale
behavior is simply too unpredictable. In 2006 at San Diego, SeaWorld
trainer Ken Peters was repeatedly dragged to the bottom of the pool
until he finally swam to safety. In 2004, another trainer was attacked
at SeaWorld San Antonio.

Government lawyers wrote in their brief that "forty-plus years of
history at the SeaWorld parks have yielded occasion after occasion where
captive killer whales have not responded as their trainers intended."

SeaWorld runs 11 U.S. theme parks and had 24 million visitors last year. Now it worries its core business model is at stake.